


Pining for Lost Innocence

by iam93percentstardust



Series: Christmas Movie Challenge 2019 [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - No Powers, M/M, MHEA Holiday 2019, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Omega Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21545884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iam93percentstardust/pseuds/iam93percentstardust
Summary: After a whirlwind romance, Bucky is dumped by his fiancé, Brock. He ends up spending the next year living with Tony, one of his closest friends, moping first over his breakup and then over his unrequited feelings for Tony. When his sister’s wedding is announced for the same day he was left at the altar, he realizes that he’s not ready to go alone. He asks Tony to go with him- just as friends. But Bucky’s not the only one pining in their apartment and his sister’s ready for him to realize that.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: Christmas Movie Challenge 2019 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839016
Comments: 43
Kudos: 622
Collections: MHEA Holiday Movie Challenge 2019





	Pining for Lost Innocence

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt: Character A has to go to their cousin’s holiday wedding that’s taking place a year to the day they were left at the altar. Unable to face going alone, they con Character B into going “just as friends.”

In Becca’s defense, it isn’t like she could have known that she’s picked the day Bucky had gotten left at the altar.

He and Brock had been very lowkey, so lowkey in fact that when Brock had asked if they could just get married at the courthouse, it hadn’t seemed off. That probably should have been the first clue. And then there’d been the two witnesses and no one else- clue number two. And then the fact that both witnesses had been Bucky’s friends and not Brock’s- well, Bucky should have known by then that Brock was going to walk out on him.

But he had fancied himself in love and had thought that Brock was just as in love with him. So he had waited, waited there in the judge’s office with Sam and Tony as his witnesses for as long as he could until the judge had finally, reluctantly, told him that she had other weddings to attend to. He’d gone back to the apartment they shared to find that Brock had cancelled their lease. He’d called Brock’s job- the other alpha had quit three days earlier, no forwarding address. He’d tried once to reach Brock’s phone; he received a message informing him that the number was no longer in service. It had hit him then, really truly hit him that Brock hadn’t just left him at the altar, he’d gone and _abandoned_ him. He’d shown up at Tony’s door thirty minutes later and had never really left since then.

So when he gets Becca’s wedding invitation and sees that she’s set the date for December 23rd, the same day that Brock left him, he takes a deep breath, resolutely does _not_ crumple the invitation in his hand, and just carries it inside.

Tony’s stretched out on the couch, a heating pad across his lap. His heat’s coming up in a few days. The pre-heat cramps have always been the worst for him, to the point where he usually has to take an additional couple days off work along with the regular three for his heat. Bucky can’t stop himself from sniffing at the air surreptitiously to try to catch a hint of Tony’s sweet pre-heat scent.

Tony smells the _best_ , always has. It had driven him crazy after they’d both presented as teenagers, it had driven him crazy during the one heat they’d shared when Ty had walked out on Tony only hours before his heat and he hadn’t had time to get his suppressants into his system, and it still drives him crazy now. But Tony doesn’t want him, not really. He’d been convenient after Ty but that was it. He wants to ask for more but he also doesn’t want to ruin the fantastic friendship they’ve got by trying to push, not when Tony’s never asked for it. When Brock had come along, he’d thought he’d managed to move on from his feelings but he’d lived with Tony for barely a month before they were back in full force.

He’s loved Tony since they were children. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he’s convinced that he’ll love him for the rest of time, no matter who he mates with. And if Tony never loves him back, he’ll have to be okay with that because he’ll take Tony any way he can get.

“Hi honey,” he announces, shoving his moping to the back of his mind. “I’m home!”

Tony looks up from his phone and smiles brightly, spying the grocery bags in his hand. “Hello darling. Did you bring home the bacon?”

“Nope,” Bucky says, popping the p. “Doc says bacon isn’t good for your heart.”

Tony pouts. For a fleeting second, Bucky has the urge to turn around and run back out to the store to get bacon but he holds firm. Tony’s had a weak heart for years. His last surgery should have fixed the problem but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. Tony can’t die. Bucky doesn’t know what he’ll do if Tony leaves him too.

“What’s that?” Tony asks. He nods at the envelope.

The beginning of Bucky’s good mood deflates. “Becca’s wedding invitation,” he says gloomily. He tosses the envelope Tony’s way, sending it spinning through the air. “She and Stevie picked a day.”

Tony completely fumbles the catch and ends up having to bend down from his reclining position to grab it from the floor. His shirt rides up, showing the smallest sliver of tanned skin. Bucky catches his breath, hoping that his scent blockers keep Tony from smelling _horny alpha_. Tony’s got enough trust issues after Ty; he doesn’t need Bucky adding to them.

He marches into the kitchen as Tony opens the envelope. He doesn’t need to see the look on the omega’s face when he sees the date. It’s sure to be pitying and he doesn’t want that, not from Tony.

There’s the shuffle of feet from the doorway to the living room. Bucky doesn’t turn around, just keeps putting away groceries. Even so, he manages to catch a glimpse of Tony in the mirror above the sink. The little omega’s wrapped the blanket from the couch around his shoulders. One hand is both clutching the heating pad to his stomach and holding the blanket closed. The other is holding the envelope. There’s no pity in his eyes, just soft understanding. Bucky smiles fondly to himself. He doesn’t know why he expected any different, except that maybe that’s all he ever seems to get from Sam (that and the occasional “You know, if you asked Tony out, you wouldn’t have this problem.”).

“Are you going to go?” Tony asks softly.

He shrugs. “Can’t not. It’s my sister and my best friend. Sides, Becca’d never talk to me again if I missed it.”

“You could tell her. She’d understand.”

And that’s the crux of it. He’d never told his family about what had happened last Christmas. His romance with Brock had been such a whirlwind. They’d gotten engaged after only two weeks of dating, moved in together a week after that, and nearly walked down the aisle three months later. He’d never even gotten around to telling his family that they were even dating, let alone that they were getting married (and subsequently, that he’d gotten left at the altar). He’d just told them that he didn’t feel up to visiting for Christmas and had spent the holiday curled up on Tony’s couch, letting the omega hold and soothe him.

“I won’t ruin Becca’s day,” he says decisively. It’s high time he stops letting Brock ruin his life. The man didn’t even bother breaking up with him. He certainly doesn’t deserve the right to determine the rest of Bucky’s life.

He tells Tony so. A huge grin breaks across Tony’s face. “That’s my alpha,” he declares proudly.

Bucky’s hand slips on the milk carton. He just barely manages to catch it before it hits the floor, glad that the mishap keeps Tony from seeing the red glow on his face. He wants to be Tony’s alpha, wants to hear _Tony_ say that he’s his alpha. But if wishes grew on trees…

Well, wishing never did anything but cause misery.

“Dunno if I can do it by myself,” he mutters as he puts the milk in the fridge. Tony quirks his head curiously. “’s just I wouldn’t’ve had to do it if Brock was here. I dunno if I can handle Becca’s wedding on what was s’posed to be my anniversary.” He takes a closer look at what they’ve got in the fridge. “How does spaghetti sound?”

This close to his heat, Tony usually craves Italian food. Bucky’s more than happy to make it for him. If there’s a little voice in the back of his mind reminding him that any good alpha would take care of their omega before their heat, that’s nobody’s business but his own.

“Okay,” Tony says quietly. “I’m gonna go lay down again.”

Bucky watches him go before busying himself with dinner. He mulls over the problem of the wedding as he rolls the meatballs. He doesn’t want to go alone. If he goes alone, he’ll spend the entire time moping, fixated on what he almost had, and Becca will kill him. But-

“Tony,” he pants, skidding into the living room, “will you go with me?”

Tony, despite being fully clothed, clutches the blanket to his chest. He blinks at him sleepily. Bucky curses himself for disturbing the omega’s nap.

“To the wedding,” he clarifies. He’s already woken him up, might as well keep going. “Will you go with me to the wedding?”

There’s a strange, eager light in Tony’s eyes. “With you?” he repeats.

Bucky turns over the request in his mind and hastily adds, “As friends. I wouldn’t expect you to be my date.”

The eager light disappears. “Oh,” Tony murmurs. If Bucky hadn’t known any better, he might have thought that Tony sounded disappointed. But he does know better. There’s absolutely no way Tony’s upset that Bucky’s not asking him as a date.

Tony reaches up and holds onto one of Bucky’s hands with both of his much littler ones. “Of course I’ll go with you,” he says warmly.

He was imagining the disappointment. That’s all it was.

Imagining.

* * *

For Bucky, at least, the wedding of Steve Rogers and Becca Barnes is a strange one. Mostly because Steve’s his best friend and he remembers when they used to groan when Bucky’s mother would insist that they include Becca in their games. They had been six years older than Becca and so they really hadn’t had much to do with each other, which is why it had so surprised him when Steve had told him three years ago that he was madly in love with his sister and planned to ask her to marry him.

“I didn’t know you were even dating,” Bucky had said, utterly dumbfounded.

Steve had scuffed his shoes along the floor and mumbled, “…we’re not.”

That was the point when Bucky had burst into laughter but he’d given Steve his blessing to ask her out, given it again when Steve had come back a year later and asked for his blessing to marry her, and continued wishing that he had the courage to ask Tony out like Steve had for Becca. They’d waited a few years to get married after announcing their engagement so Becca could finish college but everyone had known they were as good as mated. Steve was absolutely besotted with her and she was just as enamored as Steve.

Steve’s in the middle of his vows when Bucky hears a quiet sniff from beside him. He looks over to see Tony dabbing at the corners of his eyes with a tissue.

He leans over. “This can’t possibly be making you cry,” he whispers. “It’s _Steve_. You two fight like cats and dogs.”

“Shut up, you useless alpha,” Tony hisses. “It’s _romantic_.”

Bucky wrinkles his nose and sits back up. It’s his alpha best friend and his beta sister. Bucky’s seen both of them (and Tony too, now that he thinks about it) naked in the kiddy pool. There’s nothing romantic about it.

Well, maybe it’s a little romantic. Just a bit. Barely more than a smidge. Fuck, if he and Tony were together, he knows that he’d think that it was romantic, with how they’ve known each other since childhood. He casts a sideways glance at Tony, who’s staring raptly at Steve and Becca with bright, shining eyes. He remembers the first time he’d ever seen Tony, standing alone on the playground, smaller even than Stevie because he was four years younger than everyone else in their year; remembers how Tony had come yelling to their rescue when Bucky had taken on a couple of Steve’s bullies. He’d gone home that day and told his mom, “There’s a new boy in our class and one day, I’m gonna marry him.”

Only he never had. Somehow, the timing had never worked out and they’d passed each other by like ships in the night- except for Tony’s heat.

They’d had three perfect days together. Three days sharing Tony’s heat because his heats were always terrible and Bucky couldn’t stand seeing him in so much pain. Usually, Tony’s suppressants were enough to smother the worst of the heat cramps but Ty had never liked him on suppressants so he’d gone off of them for the duration of their relationship. For Ty to dump him only hours before his heat when everyone knows that suppressants needed at least a day to take effect…

He growls, low enough to be nearly subvocal, the thought still making him angry after all this time. Tony swats him and he jumps. “Sorry,” he whispers and lets his mind drift again.

Tony had called him after Ty had left, sobbing. It had taken Bucky an age to figure out what Tony was telling him and when he’d finally managed it, he’d been up out of his chair and halfway out the door before he’d paused.

“Tony, honey,” he’d said. “You’re asking me to come over now?”

Tony had sobbed out a yes but Bucky had still hesitated. “Right before your heat?” He’d known that omegas in heat could be needy, known that they craved attention and touch, but Tony wasn’t his to hold.

“Please, Bucky,” Tony had whispered into the phone. “Please share my heat, just once. I need you.”

And Bucky had had to put his phone on mute so that Tony couldn’t hear his broken cry. Just once. That was all he could have Tony for. Just that one heat before he had to let the omega- _his_ omega- go again.

They’d had three perfect days. Three days of Tony writhing beneath him, of him crying, “ _Alpha!”_ in that perfect way of his. _Tony_ had been perfect, responsive and lovely and so, _so_ beautiful. He’d made the prettiest noises, soft little mews when he was overwhelmed and breathy sighs when he was happy, the cutest growls when he was being bratty and demanding and when he’d come- his sweet cries could have rivaled the birds for their songs. “Pretty omega,” Bucky had murmured, nosing into Tony’s throat. “Sweet omega. _My_ omega.”

Three perfect days and then never again.

“-for the first time as mates, Captain Steven Rogers and Rebecca Barnes Rogers,” the priest concludes.

…and now he’s missed most of the ceremony. Great. He hopes that Becca didn’t catch his drifting mind. He likes his dick where it is, thank you very much. Steve leans Becca backwards in a thorough kiss. For all of two seconds, Bucky entertains the thought of yelling, “Get some, Becca!” but he thinks that might be even worse than missing the ceremony.

“Did you pay attention to any of it?” Tony asks as they stand and clap with the rest of the guests.

“No,” Bucky sighs.

“Useless alpha.”

* * *

Becca finds him halfway through the dancing lurking in a corner. “Hey, dickwad,” she says as she bounds up to him.

“Fuckface,” he replies cheerfully, not able to tear his eyes away from Tony dancing with one of their younger cousins. Becca’s beautiful of course, brides always are, but Tony’s radiant in his traditional male omega formal wear. It’s nothing more complex than an ensemble cut like a suit across his torso but the back is entirely lace, dipping low across his hips where it flares into a gown. Bucky can’t stop staring- and neither can most of the other unmated alphas here.

“Are you staying for Christmas this year?” Becca asks.

“Hmm?” Bucky hums, still watching Tony dance with his five-year-old cousin. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Good. We really missed you last year. Actually, no, just Mom and Dad missed you. I was delighted that I didn’t have to see your stupid face.”

“Right back atcha.”

“But really, Bucky, it isn’t really Christmas if the family isn’t together and I know you had plans with Tony last year but maybe you could bring him this time?”

One of Steve’s artist friends, an alpha by the looks of him, cuts in and steals Tony away. Tony looks absolutely bewildered and keeps glancing back at Bucky’s little cousin, left alone on the dance floor. Bucky clenches his fists. That hadn’t been necessary. The alpha could have let them finish the dance or better yet, could have left Tony alone for the rest of the night.

“If you could take your eyes off your omega for five seconds,” Becca says archly.

That gets through to him. “Tony’s not my omega,” he replies confusedly.

Becca looks just as confused. “What? But you RSVP’d together.”

“Yeah…” Bucky says slowly, not certain where she’s going with this.

“He could have just come on his own. We sent him his own invitation. He didn’t have to come with you.”

He gets it then, where she’s confused. She doesn’t know that Tony’s here as his support. She’d just seen that they had sent two separate invitations but had replied together to only one of them, the same way a couple might have.

“Tony’s not my omega,” he repeats quietly. “We came together because this was supposed to be my anniversary.”

“ _What?_ ” Becca’s mouth is gaping slightly open. Under his misery, he can’t help but be a little pleased that he’s stunned his normally unfazed sister.

“I was seeing someone last year,” he mutters. “We were going to get married. It was supposed to be a quick, private ceremony, just us and a couple witnesses. I thought it would be a nice surprise for Christmas. And then he left me at the altar.”

“Oh Bucky,” she sighs. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve picked a different day.”

He glares at her. “You’ve worked so hard on this. I wasn’t going to ruin it.”

“Taking care of yourself isn’t _ruining things,”_ she says firmly. “Is that why you didn’t come for Christmas?”

He nods miserably. “Tony said I wasn’t in any state to go anywhere so we holed up in his apartment and watched shitty Hallmark movies.” More quietly, he says, “It was perfect.”

Becca bites her lip. He watches her detachedly, wondering if she’s going to say what she’s thinking or not. She’s quiet just long enough that he’s getting ready to excuse himself before she blurts out, “And you still think he’s not in love with you?”

“ _What?_ ”

“I can’t keep doing this,” she says quickly. “I know I told Steve I wasn’t going to interfere but I can’t watch you two miss out on this.”

“Becca, what are you talking about?” he says harshly.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she says helplessly. “You think just anyone would’ve given up on their Christmas like that?”

“I was upset!” he replies. “Yeah, I think any decent friend would’ve done that.”

“So Steve was there too, huh?”

It’s rhetorical. They both know that Steve spent last Christmas with the Barnes. “That’s different,” he begins.

“You said any decent friend. But fine. What about Sam? Was Sam there? Or how about Nat? Maybe Clint?” Bucky gapes at her. “You don’t have to say anything, it’s fine. I know it was just Tony.”

“Just because Tony spent Christmas with me doesn’t mean he’s in love with me,” he argues.

She throws her hands up in the air. “For fuck’s sake, you shared a _heat_ together!”

“How do you even _know_ about that?”

Becca sneers. “Steve tells me everything. I mean, come on, Bucky. Heats _mean_ something to omegas. Sure, Tony was going through a breakup but he could have spent it by himself if he really wanted to. He _wanted_ you.”

“He told me, ‘Just this once.’”

“Did he?” she asks. “Or did he ask for just once? There’s a difference.”

Bucky falls silent and turns to look at where Tony’s stepping firmly away from the alpha and going back to the kid he’d been dancing with earlier. “Becca, does he love me?” he murmurs, half-dazed by the very thought.

“He hasn’t dated since Tiberius. He invited you into his home. Hell, Bucky, you’ve seen his nest. No one gets to see his nest. If he doesn’t love you, then I don’t know what love looks like.”

He takes several deep breaths. “I think I need to sit down,” he gasps.

“Nope,” Becca says, pushing him in the direction of Tony. “You need to go ask that pretty omega to dance and tell him how you feel and then you need him to bring him to Christmas with you because I’ll never talk to you again if he’s not there.”

Bucky takes two steps away from her and then turns back around. He swoops down to drop a light kiss on her cheek. “You look stunning,” he says honestly. “Now please go find your husband and stop meddling.”

* * *

He waits for Tony to finish his dance with his cousin before he comes up behind him. He settles a hand at Tony’s back and murmurs into his ear, “Walk with me?”

Tony turns his head, so close Bucky can feel his breath on his cheek. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s great.” He pauses and then amends the thought. “I think. I just wanted to ask you something and I’d really like it if I could do it away from my very nosy family.”

Obediently, Tony trails behind him until they’ve left the wedding tent behind and are winding through the labyrinth behind the tent. Becca picked this reception hall specifically for the labyrinth and had thumped Bucky on the head when he’d informed her that it wasn’t like she was going to be spending any time in it. He’s glad for it now though as it offers them some small bit of privacy.

He comes to a stop when he has to start straining to hear the music. They’re in a small corner; if they were trying to find the center of the maze, they certainly wouldn’t have succeeded. It’s cold out, the way it always is in upstate New York in December. He can see their breaths hanging in the air between them. It’s supposed to snow soon, he knows, but it hasn’t started yet.

Tony rubs his arms. “Cold?” Bucky asks. When Tony nods, he holds out his arms. “I could warm you up.”

Tony doesn’t even hesitate to step into his arms, burrowing his hands beneath Bucky’s jacket to wrap around his waist. Bucky holds him close, settling his hands low on Tony’s hips and resting his cheek against the little omega’s hair. This close, he can smell Tony beneath the scent blockers he always wears. He inhales deeply. Peaches and honeysuckle, his favorite scents.

“Omega,” he murmurs. “Pretty omega.”

“You never call me that,” Tony says just as softly, shivering slightly. Bucky wishes he could know if it’s because Tony’s cold or if he likes it.

“I could stop.”

Tony hesitates. “Don’t stop,” he whispers finally.

Bucky smiles into his hair and turns his head so that his lips just barely brush the top of his head. “Sweet omega,” he rumbles. Tony trembles in his arms.

The band begins a waltz and he shifts on his feet. “Would you dance with me?” he asks. Tony nods, his cheek rubbing against Bucky’s shirt.

Bucky doesn’t move much, just moves so that one hand holds onto Tony’s. They’re still pressed together. He’s still resting his head against Tony’s. But they’re turning in place, breaths whispering in the still night air.

“Becca wants you to come for Christmas,” he says.

Tony tenses just slightly. “Can’t.”

“Why not?”

He can feel Tony shrug against his body. “Christmas is for family.”

“So you’re going home to Stark Mansion?”

Tony’s silent, not that it matters. Bucky already knows the answer. Tony left that life behind a long time ago. “You could come back with me,” Tony says eventually.

“Christmas is for family,” he parrots. Tony growls, the hand hidden in Bucky’s jacket clenching in his shirt. He decides he’s teased him long enough. “Don’t you know you’re family?”

Tony shakes his head. “Not like that. Not for Christmas.”

“ _Especially_ for Christmas.”

“Bucky, don’t tease,” Tony says quietly. He starts to push away.

Bucky panics. Somewhere, this has gone wrong. Somewhere, he’s made a mistake. It’s started to snow, big white flakes falling to coat the ground around them. “Don’t go,” he says desperately. “Let me start over.”

But Tony’s standing away from him now, wrapping his arms around himself like he’s trying to replace Bucky’s warmth. “What are we doing out here?” he asks. He can’t keep his eyes on Bucky, keeps darting them away to look at the hedges around them.

He doesn’t know where to begin, doesn’t know how to ask him if what Becca said was true. So instead he asks, “Why did you ask me to share your heat?”

Tony stills, gaze coming back to him. “Wha- that was years ago,” he says incredulously.

“I know,” Bucky says steadily. He falls to his knees, shuffles forward to take Tony’s hands in his. “Honey, I can’t stop thinking about it. Why did you ask me?”

Tony’s gaze darts away and then back. His eyes are wide and a little fearful. Bucky prays that he’s not the reason that Tony looks scared. The omega swallows hard before saying, “Ty broke up with me. I-I-”

“It was your heat, Tony. It would have been awful but you could have gone through your heat alone. I would have been there waiting after it was over.” He presses his forehead to Tony’s hands. “Omega,” he begins. “Pretty omega, _my_ omega. Why did you ask me to share your heat?”

He looks back up then. Tony’s eyes are as bright with unshed tears as they were a few hours ago. “I wanted to,” Tony breathes. “Ty left me because he said he couldn’t be with an omega who loved someone else.”

Bucky takes in a shaky breath. “Loved?” he asks, hesitant to say anything but he has to know.

Tony looks about as wrecked as he feels as he slowly shakes his head. “Loves.”

The word’s little more than a sigh, barely louder than the wind in the hedges, but Bucky hears him clear as a bell.

He surges to his feet, one hand dropping Tony’s so he can catch his arm around Tony’s waist and reel him in. Tony’s now-free hand curls into the fabric of Bucky’s shirt. Bucky drops his head to press his forehead against Tony’s. This close, he can see the light dusting of freckles on Tony’s nose that the little omega tries so hard to pretend doesn’t exist.

“Honey, can I kiss you?” he asks, trying to tamp his desperation down. He doesn’t want to scare Tony. He can’t scare Tony. Tony’s precious and sweet and doesn’t deserve to be scared by a hulking alpha.

Tony flashes him a quick smile, bright as the sun. “Call me omega and we’ll see.”

He rubs his nose alongside the length of Tony’s. “ _Omega_ ,” he rumbles, putting as much Alpha into his voice as he can. Tony shivers.

“Alpha,” Tony breathes and Bucky feels like roaring his triumph. “ _Yes_.”

Their first kiss is little more than a brush of Bucky’s lips against Tony’s. “I love you,” he says, pulling back to drop a quick kiss to the tip of Tony’s nose. He presses another kiss to Tony’s lips, there and then pulling back. Tony’s eyes flutter closed on a soft sight and Bucky’s arrested by the sight of those long eyelashes against his cheek. His next kiss lands on Tony’s right eyelid. “Love those pretty Bambi eyes,” he says. Another fleeting kiss on Tony’s lips and then back to Tony’s left eyelid. “Love that pink blush on your cheeks.” Tony’s cheeks immediately heat. Bucky can’t resist placing his next kisses on each cheek, feeling the heat under his lips, before coming back to Tony’s pouting mouth. He’s there longer this time, placing quick teasing kisses on his lips, pulling back slightly, and then coming back, too overwhelmed by the feeling of Tony in his arms to stay away for long. “Love your perfect scent.” He buries his face in Tony’s neck, nuzzling into his scent glands. _Happy omega_ is pouring off of him, filling the air with the smell of honeysuckle and peaches.

He fits his teeth around the gland and bites gently, not hard enough to spark a bond, just enough to tease. Tony goes limp against him, falling into his shoulder with a whimper. “I’ve got you, honey,” he says and presses a line of kisses up Tony’s throat to the corner of his mouth.

“Love you,” he says again, just because he can.

Tony smiles at him, bright as the sun, warming up the winter night. “I love you too.”

Bucky kisses his smiling mouth, firmly this time. He takes the omega’s bottom lip between his teeth and nibbles on the soft flesh. When Tony gasps, he slides his tongue between his lips and licks inside. He pulls back to trace his tongue over the outline of the omega’s mouth, dips back in for another taste. Tony’s hand moves from his shirt to his arm, digging his fingers into his bicep. Bucky groans and hauls Tony even closer.

“Let me take you home,” he whispers, tearing his mouth away to suck at the smooth skin at the juncture between Tony’s neck and shoulder. “Let me lay you out on my bed, keep you safe, keep you warm.” He rolls his hips so Tony can feel just how hard he is. “Keep you _full_.”

Tony whines, hand clenching and unclenching. “Yes,” he says on a gasp as Bucky bites down. “Please.” Bucky takes his earlobe between his teeth and tugs. “ _Alpha_.”

“My omega,” Bucky says. He drops his hand to where Tony’s ass meets his thighs and lifts. Tony immediately wraps his legs around his hips. “So perfect, honey.”

He carries Tony out of the labyrinth, kisses him quiet when Tony protests leaving without saying goodbye to Steve and Becca. “If I know them, they’re already gone,” he mutters. “’Sides, we’ll see ‘em in two days.” He takes a quick look at Tony’s blown pupils, the barest hint of omega gold around the edges. “Maybe.”

* * *

Bucky shifts on the front stoop for only a second before Tony slides his warm hand into his. “It’s just your family,” Tony points out.

“Yeah but I told Becca about Brock so she told everyone else so they’re all going to look at me like-”

“-you’re the luckiest alpha in the world,” Tony finishes. He reaches up with his other hand to thumb at the bondmark on Bucky’s neck.

“More like the stupidest,” he mutters. He bends down to drop a quick kiss on the tip of Tony’s nose. “Coulda had this _years_ ago.”

Tony wrinkles his nose. “Don’t know why you like my nose so much.”

“Your freckles, honey. I like your freckles.” He presses another quick kiss to the side of Tony’s head. “Even if I can’t see ‘em under that foundation you wear.”

Tony preens. “Well, that’s okay then.”

“Love you,” Bucky says and presses one more kiss to Tony’s lips. Tony mews and opens for his tongue. Bucky indulges in Tony’s taste for only another second before pulling away. “Pretty omega.”

Tony blinks his eyes back open, hazy and dreamlike. “Love you too.”

“Yes, yes you both love each other,” Becca says dryly. She snickers as they jump apart.

“When did you open the door?” Bucky demands.

“Too early. You two are gross, look like two seals wrestling over a grape.”

Tony sniffs haughtily. “It isn’t like you and Steve were much better,” he begins but Bucky presses his fingers against his bondmark and he falls silent with nothing more than a quiet whimper.

Becca watches the byplay with a tiny smirk before casually saying, “Are you just going to stand there the entire time or are you going to come inside? You’re letting all the cold air in.”

“Come inside,” Bucky says promptly and shoves her aside.

“Dickhead,” Becca snaps.

He replies cheerfully, “Fuckface,” and drops Tony’s hand to pull her into a tight hug and mess up her perfectly styled hair.

“Glad to have you back,” Becca mutters sullenly. She hesitates. “Better Christmas this year?”

Bucky looks at where Tony’s flounced off to the kitchen, probably to wheedle cookies off his mother. At the door to the kitchen, he pauses and looks back at Bucky to blow him a kiss. He smiles fondly. “Much.”

**Author's Note:**

> * * *
> 
> Achievements earned as part of the Holiday Movie Challenge 2019. Click [here](https://heamarvel.tumblr.com/holiday) for more info!
> 
> * * *


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